Friday July 13, 2018

By Aiden Graw

www.mknewslink.com

WIMBLEDON 2018: SERENA WILLIAMS CRUISES INTO FINAL, EDGES CLOSER TO HISTORIC CROWN

SERENA Williams reached her first Grand Slam final as a mother just 10 months after giving birth as the seven-time champion marched into her 10th Wimbledon title match with a 6-2, 6-4 rout of Julia Goerges on Thursday.

On 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon, Williams will face German world number 10 Angelique Kerber on Saturday in a repeat of the 2016 showpiece won by Williams.

In only her fourth tournament since the arrival of her daughter Olympia in September, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is closing in on her first major title since becoming a parent.

Semi Finals

COMPLETE

1. Goerges

(13)

2

4

1. Williams

(25)

6

6

Match Centre

German 13th seed Goerges was sent packing in only 70 minutes on Centre Court. It was a cathartic moment for the 36-year-old, who endured severe labour complications that left her needing life-saving operations.

“It’s crazy. I don’t even know how to feel. I didn’t expect to do this well in my fourth tournament back,” Williams said.

“I had a really tough pregnancy delivery. I had to have multiple surgeries and almost didn’t make it to be honest.

After all the controversy about the decision to seed Williams 25th at Wimbledon despite her position at 181 in the WTA rankings, she has proved the tournament’s officials were actually too conversative.

Williams, who missed Wimbledon last year due to her pregnancy, won the grass-court Grand Slam on her previous two visits in 2015 and 2016.

Twenty years after making her Wimbledon debut as a precocious teenager and 16 years since her first title at the All England Club, Serena remains the pre-eminent force in the women’s game.

In a testament to her remarkable longevity, the former world number one has now made at least one Grand Slam final for the last 12 years.

Serena had lost only one of her 10 previous Wimbledon semi-finals and the 11th followed a familiar script.

When a panicked Goerges error wrapped up the first set, Serena’s dominance was so total that the American, whose emotions are usually on full display, barely acknowledged the moment.

By the time a Goerges drop-shot drifted into net to present Serena with the decisive break in the sixth game of the second set, the contest had already been sapped of any drama and moments later the title favourite was waving to the crowd in celebration.

Semi Finals

COMPLETE

1. Kerber

(11)

6

6

1. Ostapenko

(12)

3

3

Match Centre

Earlier, Kerber raced into her second Wimbledon final and fourth Grand Slam showpiece as the German crushed former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-3 in 67 minutes.

The 30-year-old hit only 10 winners but that was all it took to get the job done as Latvian 12th seed Ostapenko shot herself in the foot with 36 unforced errors.

“I was just trying to move good and take my chances. I’m so excited,” Kerber said.

“It’s such a great feeling to be back in the final. Playing on Centre Court is always great.” Referencing her dismal form last year, Kerber added: “2017 is over and I’m really happy about that. We are in 2018!

“I’m really happy and proud to be in a Grand Slam final. These are the matches I was working for since I was a kid.” It will be Kerber’s first Grand Slam final since she won the second of her two major titles at the 2016 US Open.

Kerber, who also won the Australian Open in 2016, is bidding to become the first German woman to win Wimbledon since Graf in 1996.

WIMBLEDON 2018: MEN’S SEMI-FINALS

THIS is the first time all four male semi-finalists at a Grand Slam tournament are in their 30s. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic renew their rivalry in one semi-final, while Kevin Anderson and John Isner meet in the other.

This will be the 52nd meeting between 17-time major champion Nadal and 12-time major champ Djokovic, more than any other two men ever have played each other.

Nadal leads overall (26-25) and at Grand Slam tournaments (9-4), while they’re even at Wimbledon (1-1), where Djokovic won their 2011 final. It’s the 12th matchup between No. 8 seed Anderson and No. 9 Isner, who leads the head-to- head 8-3.

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